Is 50,000 a lot?

I've decided to participate in a contest. If you sign up and complete the goal you win. There are no prizes, just the self satisfaction of completion. The contest is National Novel Writing Month. Write a 50,000 word novel over the course of 30 days. You start on November 1st and must be completed by November 30th to win. The idea is to get people who wouldn't normally attempt something as grand as a novel to give it a shot. It's not about finishing with something publishable, but to produce a 50,000 word manuscript to be able to continue to work with.

I heard about this contest two days ago and at first I didn't even consider trying it. Then I realized that writing 1,700 words a day would accomplish the goal. And while 50,000 words sounded impossible, 1,700 didn't. "Hmmm..." is what my thoughts changed into. Then I realized how much of my free time it would take up (nearly all) and how I would have to be disciplined enough if I expected to do well and my, "Hmmm..." turned into, "Maybe not...". On Thursday night I asked Mandy what she thought of the idea. I was expecting (and a small part of me was hoping) that she wouldn't like the idea of me spending that much time with something like this, but she thought it was a neat idea. Yay for supportive people!

So my plan is to write two hours a night during the week and get close to 1,700 words a night. Then on weekends write more, like 2,000+ words to make up for any slack during the week. Thanksgiving falls at the end of the month, so that could be tough.

For the record, I'll consider this a success if I either get to the 50,000 words or if I finish telling my story, no matter how short of the goal I am. Part of me thinks that my story just won't be long enough, but I won't know til I give it a shot. I plan on having updates here every few days and I'll share some more about the story and my progress.

Ok, on to the pictures!
Julia took a lot of pictures with her little camera. The quality is low, but here are some of the interesting ones.





When Julia gathers a whole mess of toys, blankets, books, and anything else she can find, she calls it her nest. When Finn does it, he calls it his jungle. Here's a jungle that Finn made.

The guys of family hanging out.

The children are legoing to their heart's content!

Here's Finn helping out with supper.

Rather than dressing up in costumes, Julia's school had wacky hair day. Finn wanted in on the action too.


Julia's pout with her haircut is faked. She was super-excited about it!